Aircraft passenger chair



Aug. 15, 1950 M. T. BLUE 2,518,

AIRCRAFT PASSENGER CHAIR Filed Oct. 31, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.414/11 7. BLUE 3/ 772. M

A TTORNE Y.

atented Aug l90 7 i Max T. Blue, Wichita gains. Application; October a1,1946, Serial No. 706,818

*Myfinvention relates to an improvement in aircraft passnger's'eatsJ Theobject-of my inventi'on is'jt'o providea seat of the kind mentioned thatis strong and light in weight, one that is' comfortable andhasspringsupported 'uphol- *stering in both'these atand back, one in which theback is easily adjustable forward or backward and onejnwhichthe seat maybe easily m e f Q l 9 r A still ,furtherobject is to provide afseat ofthe kind; mentionedTwhich; while being designed for passenger air'usefcan befeasily conver ted for fd naryid se: L I v i A" still furtherobject is to providela seat of the kind mentioned that is fast, easy andinexpensive to build and one that is neat and has a pleasing appearance.These. and, other objects "ill be more fullydescribed and explained asthis description progresses. V

' Now'referring to the accompanying drawings in which similar numeralsof reference designate the same parts throughoutthe several figures ofthedrawings; X Y

Fig. 1 is a. front viewofa singleseatin' which the above. mentionedobjects are included.

i Fig. '2 affront view of a' double seat in which the above mentionedobjects are included. i

Fig.f3.is aside view of. the seats shown in FigiiresIandZ-Q i V Fig.4is-a bottom plan view of the seat shown in" Fig. .1. The constructionshown in Fig, 4 is common :to both. the seats shown in Fig. 1 and Fig.2.

-3 claims. (01.155-194) E i Figh5=is asectional view. through the seat,the

view being taken, along the line V-'-V in Fig.6

andlooking in the direction of the arrows-qThe upholstering has beenremoved for convenience of illustration. Fig. "6 is a; side chair. l

Fig. 7 isan enlarged detail sectional view through the arm restand'frame therefor, the View being taken along the line VII- -VII inFig. 3 and looking in the'direction of the arrows.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail side view of a portion of one of the sideframe members, parts being broken away for convenience of illustration.Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional detail view through the'hinge structureof the back portion ofthe chair, the view being taken along the line "IX-fIX in and looking in the direction of detail of the back frame of thethe arrows.

Fig.10 is aside view oithe' lower portion of the penetrthe chairandillustrating how thechair i 2 r can be converted intoa rocking chair fordomestic use. l l. v f

Fig. 11 is a detail sectionalview of thelower portion of the chairframe, the view being taken along the line XI-XI in Fig. 10, and lookingin the direction of the arrows. l e

Fig. 12 is a detail sectional view through a portion of the chair seat;the view being taken along the line XII-XII in Fig, 4 and looking in thedirection of the arrows.v

Fig. 13 is a view, the same as Fig. 3 except that one ofthesupportingelements of the. chair is raised to rest on a heating ductexistant in the aircraft. v a v.

,In the drawings the singlechair. see Figures 1, 3, 4'and '5 is shown ashaving apair 'of side frame elements [5. and [6 that are duplicates inshape and are made preferably of tubular-material and of which'each hasa, straight horizontalbase portion a that is bent with rounded cornersto form vertically and upwardlyextending front leg b and rear leg 0elements, the front leg b curving rearwardly and thence curvingdownwardly to form an arm rest support d and then curving in a stillmore downwardlydirection and merging into the upper end of the rear leg0 as shown more clearly inFig'. 3. As shown in Fig. 2', the frames l5and [6 are spaceddouble distance apart anda third'frame I! that; isa

duplicate in shape of the frames [land I 6 is positioned between theframes l5 and lfizwhich frames provide a frame work for the support of.the double chair as shown inFig. 2. The base portiona of each framel5,- l6 and I1 isprovided with a pair "of inwardly directed lug ele-'ments's'l8 and I9, each' of which has a hole, 29 therein; through whichbolts maybepassed to 'fasten the'chair to the floor of the aircraft;or:if

the chairis to be used as a rocking chair; a

rocker 2| may be'placed under the lugs l8 and 19 and rigidly boltedthereto by'means-of'bolts' 22 that are passed through the lug holes 20and are preferably threaded into the rocker- 2l, as shown in Figs. 10and 11. The front legs b of the frames I 5 and I6, as

shown in Figs. 1, 4, 10 and 11 are rigidly held in "their spaced a'pa'rtand parallel position by means "of a tubular element 23-, the ends ofwhichfar'e 1 The rear legs cfof the frames l5 and 16 arefrigidly held intheirspaced apart and parallel positionby means of "atubuIar element.24; the ends of which are rigidly attached, preferably welded, to thelegs 0.

In both frames l5 and I6 is a tubular support element e that ispositioned between the legs b and c, and slopes downwardly from front torear, and the ends of the support element e are each welded to theirrespective leg b and c.

A tubular cross support element f is positioned between the two supportse in thetwo frames I5 and I6 and a -littIe-in' front of the crosselement 24, and "the ends" of the cross'support element 1 are eachwelded to their respective support element.

The chair is provided with a seat'e'element 01-" that has a tubularrectangular shaped base or frame 25, the rear corners of which areinsetor notched inwardly as at 26 to fit around the mounting mechanismof the back of the chair which will later be described. A seriesofpara'llelly positioned and spaced apart, arched zig-zag tioned between thefront and rear members-of the'frame and the ends 'bf 'the spring membersmare welded to-- their'adjacent front or i ear 'memb'ei' of the seatframe 25. A spring member 28 that is of the sametypeastne springmembers-His positioned about-midway between the front and rear members.of the seat-framers and the ends of" the spring member 23 are? welded totheir adjacent side member of theseat frame 15. 'lhe spring member 28"serves: as a fm'ther and' additihnal seat' support 'to the springs 23.A 'tlaick padding- 29, cotton; felt, spongerubber,

or a combination of these elements is positioned on top of-the sring'suppor t2F-28- and anupbolstering materiaiwsc is placed thereoverand brought; down around the sides and 'ends'of the received by themember d-of the chair fram'e 'l5,

[6 aud t]; A padding =34; preferablyrmadef sponge rubber;- isfitted-between; over ancl'around the upturned legs of the curved-channel33,- and an upholst'ering material 30a is placed-over the top and sidesofthe padding 34 and under-the channel 33-; which is thenlaid and-fitteddrrthe frame member at, and screws- 35 are passed through theframe member d'and threaded into the channel33-to solidlyhold-the armrest iron the frame member (it The chair is provided with-an adjustableback 1' having an. inverted u-shaped frame 9 having a tubular top crossmember 33aand-tubular-side members 34 and 3 5-, the lower ends-of-=whichcurve forwardly as-,-at 36- and the ends thereof fit petweenpairs; of -upward-lyprojecting -earlike7 ele- Jme nts. 31- and '38, thelower ends' ofwhich are welded to the frameelements e, and abolt 3-9 -ispassed throughthe ears 31 and 38 and the lower ends of the legs-34and;35;to form a pivotal mounting of the back; ii on the chair. 'Helicalsprings and l are positioned, one around each ofthebolts iigwith'one endof each spring and 5 1messen ers-t e seesaw memb I f 4 the chair and theother ends of the springs 40 and 4! being hooked around their respectiveleg members 34 and 35, the springs 40 and 4! being so tensioned as tomove or urge the forward rocking movement of the back j about thepivotal bolts 39.

A cross frame member 42 is positioned between the leg members 34 and 35at a point just above the curve 36 and the ends of the cross member 42are each welded to their respective leg memhers and 35. The chair backisprovided with a second inverted U-shaped frame It having a top crossmember 43 and downwardly extending leg elements 44 and 45, the lowerends of which curve as at 46 and-the ends thereof are welded to the sameplaces as the ends of the cross member 42 i. are welded to. the legs 34and 35.

I The frame It is spaced away from and is held in parallelism with theframe 7' by spacer tubes 41, the ends of which are welded to theirrespective elements of the two frames j and-k as shown. Also a crosstubular member 48qis positioned between the upper portions of the framelegs 34 and 35 and is welded to the legs 34 and 35 Vertically positionedframe members 49 and 50, having curved endssuch as 54, are positionedbetween the frame legs 44 and 45 and the ends of the curved portions 5|are welded to the top and. bottom cross members 33a and 42 of the framea." The frame j-is provided with zig-zag formed spring wire backsupports 52, the ends of which are weld'dito the frame cross members"33a and 42 and an intermediate point of the springs 52 'is welded to theframe crossmember 48, and the Springs curve outwardly asillustrated atm'andjn between the cross rrame memsers'aa d and 48,"and '48 and 42.

A curved lever'support element 53 is positioned betweenfth legs 34 and35' of "the frame iand is welded thereto. A lever'bar' 54 is pivotallycarried by the lever support 53 and one end of 'a helical spring '53iseonneeted to the upper end of the lever bar 54 and the other end ofthe spring'is connected to one end portionofthe lever support member 53and is tensioned to urge the lever bar 54to rock toward a horizontalposition.

One end of a pair'of lock bars"51 and Sears 'pivotally connected, oneto-ea'ch'end portion of the lever bar 54'. The outer end o'f-thelock-bar 5! slidably passes" through andpioiects beyond the frame leg34, and the outer end of 'the lock bar 58-slidablypasses through andprojects beyondtl'ie frame leg-'35? The rear curved portion d of theside chair'f'rames l5andi6 are provided with a series of holes 59, andthe frame I! is similarly providedWith-holes 59; in* which the outerprojecting-ends of' the lock bars51 and 58 are receivable to ho1d-thechairback in adjusted recliningposition as indicatedby tl'ie dotted'positions shown in Fig. 3.

.teOne end of an operating rod-fillisspivotally connected to the lowerend of the cantilever bar 54 and the operating rod 60-extends-sideway toand slidably; passes. through;andv projects beyond the frame leg 34i Theouter end of theoperating rod 63 is providedwith a finished'end' such asa head or ball 6| by which the operating lever-Mmay be operated as willlaterbedescribedu a V The '-frame I and area bounded thereby is coveredwitha piece of light weightsubstantial h s Manat e a -ti ed and sembledas above described, is provided with a suitable padding, not shown, thatis placed over the springs 52 and then an upholstering material 63 isplaced over the front, back and edges of the seat back 2'. Upholsterybuttons 64 are placed on the upholstery 63 and attached to the crossframe member 43 to improve the appearance of the seat back and form ahead rest and back rest portion of the back.

Clips 65 having holes 66, are attached to the frame members e of thechair for the purpose of attaching a safety belt thereto as is requiredin air craft seats.

Many air planes have a heating air duct that is positioned on the floorand next to the wall of the plane in a position such as indicated by thedotted lines 68 in Figures 1 and 3, and in order to set the seat in theplane and get it next to the wall of the plane the side seat frame l5 or[6 as the case may be will have to be shortened in height so that theseat frame I5 or l6 will rest on top of the air duct 61 as indicated bythe dotted lines l6a: in Fig. 3.

If the chair is to be used as a rocking chair for domestic use, rockerelements 69 may be positioned under the attachment clips l8 and l 9 andfastened thereto in the same manner as the chair would ordinarily befastened to the floor of the plane and the chair thereby becomes arocking chair.

To adjust the position of the back of the chair, the knob and operatingrod 6I69 may be pressed inwardly, whereupon the lever bar 54 is rockedagainst the pull of the spring 56 whereupon the lever bar 54 will pullthe lock bars 51 and 58 inwardly and Withdraw the outer ends of the lockbars 51 and 58 from the holes 59 in the frames I5, I6 or IT, whereuponthe back 2' may be rocked to any desired position as indicated by thedotted lines y in Fig. 3. When the seat back i has been rocked to thedesired position, the operating rod 6l60 may be released and the spring56 will rock the lever bar 54 to move the lock bars 51 and 58 outwardlyand move the outer ends of the lock bars 51 and 58 into the holes 59that are in registering position therewith and thereby rigidly hold theseat back i in its adjusted position.

Such modifications of my invention may be employed as lie within thescope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit andintention of the invention. Now having fully shown and described my.invention, what I claim is:

1. In an aircraft passenger chair of the kind described, said chairhaving a supporting frame, a seat and a back, said supporting framebeing made of light weight tubular material, said supporting framehaving duplicate side frames, each of said side frames being made of asingle piece of material and having a straight bottom portion,substantially vertical front and rear leg portion, and a curved upperarm rest support portion, and an arm rest, said arm rest beingdetachably attached to the said arm rest support, said side frameshaving a support tube, said support tube being positioned between thefront and rear legs of the side frames and sloping downwardly from frontto rear and being welded to the legs of the side frame, a front and arear cross tube, said front cross tube being positioned between thefront legs of the side frames and welded thereto at the same level asthe adjacent point of joinder of the said support tube with the frontleg of the side frame, the said rear cross tube being positioned betweenthe rear legs of the side frames and welded thereto at the same level asthe adjacent point of joinder of the support tube with the rear legs ofthe said side frames, an intermediate cross tube, said intermediatecross tube being positioned between the said front and rear cross tubesand reaching between and being welded to the said support tubes of theside frames, a seat, said seat having a tubular frame, a series ofupwardly curved and spaced apart springs carried by said frame, and seatpadding supported on said springs, and upholstering material coveringsaid padding and seat frame, said seat frame resting on and beingsupported by the said front and intermediate cross tubes, and means fordetachably attaching said seat frame to the said front and intermediatecross tubes, a chair back, said chair back being pivotally carried bythe chair frame and by the said intermediate cross tube, and means forholding the chair back in adjusted tilted position.

2. In an aircraft passenger chair of the kind described; the structureas defined in claim 1, said chair back having a tubular invertedU-shaped frame said tubular U-shaped frame being positioned between thesaid side frames of the chair, the lower ends of the legs of the tubularU-shaped frame being pivotally carried between mountings on the chairframe and the said intermediate cross tube to form the aforesaid pivotalmounting of the chair back, a pair of tubular chair back cross framemembers, one of said tubular chair back cross frame members beingpositioned between and adjacent the lower ends of the legs of thetubular U-shaped back frame and welded thereto, the second of the saidpair of tubular chair back cross frame members being positioned a shortdistance below the top and between the legs of the inverted tubularchair back frame and being welded thereto, a series of verticallydisposed spaced apart chair back spring elements, said chair back springelements being welded to the said top and tubular chair back crossmembers and curving forwardly between the cross members of the chairback, a second tubular chair back frame element, said second tubularchair back frame element being in registry with and spaced behind thefirst said chair back frame element, and spaced means between and weldedto the two chair back frames for holding the frames in their relativepositions, said chair back springs having a padding thereover and anupholstery material covering the padding and chair back frames.

3. In an aircraft passenger chair of the kind described; the structureas defined in claim 1, said chair being convertable into a rockingchair, by means of rocker elements that are detachably attached to thebase members of the side frames of the chair as shown and described.

MAX T. BLUE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 98,517 Hoffman Feb. 11, 1936507,921 OBrien Oct. 31, 1893 2,397,322 McArthur Mar. 26, 1946 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 360,386 Italy June 18, 1938 376,251 GreatBritain July 5, 1932

